Women’s Mental Health Related Content

Implementing Change, Advancing Care for Women’s Mental Health

With approximately 25% of the patients admitted into the Klarman Eating Disorders Center having a co-occurring substance abuse issue, Esther Dechant, MD , medical director for the program, recognized a significant need to treat both the eating disorder and the substance abuse simultaneously—a course...

Staff Profile: Shelly F. Greenfield, MD, MPH

Shelly F. Greenfield, MD, MPH, is an addiction psychiatrist, clinician, and researcher. She serves as principal and co-investigator on federally funded research focusing on substance use disorders treatment, gender differences, and substance health services. She received a National Institute on Drug...

Staff Profile: Esther Dechant, MD

Esther Dechant, MD, received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School. She completed the residency program in psychiatry at Cambridge Hospital and a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital. Board certified by the American Board of...

Staff Profile: R. Kathryn McHugh, PhD

R. Kathryn McHugh, PhD, engages in clinical and translational research focusing on the nature and treatment of anxiety and addiction. She is particularly interested in the study of affective vulnerability factors, such as distress intolerance and stress reactivity, that are common across...

Staff Profile: Dawn E. Sugarman, PhD

Dawn E. Sugarman, PhD, is a research psychologist in the Division of Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction at McLean Hospital. Dr. Sugarman focuses her research and clinical work on the treatment of addictive behaviors. She is particularly interested in gender-specific treatment for substance use disorders...

Staff Profile: Michael B. Leslie, MD

Dr. Leslie is the founder and director of the McLean Hospital Initiative for LGBTQ Mental Health, a program dedicated to improving the lives of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and gender nonconforming, and questioning or queer-identified) people and families affected by psychiatric...

Staff Profile: Mary C. Zanarini, EdD

Mary C. Zanarini, EdD, began her career studying the phenomenology and etiology of borderline personality disorder (BPD), finding that it is a valid psychiatric disorder that has a clear-cut clinical presentation, can be delimited from other near-neighbor disorders, runs in families, and has a...

Staff Profile: Kristin N. Javaras, DPhil, PhD

Kristin N. Javaras, DPhil, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and statistician whose research and clinical practice focus on eating disorders and other eating-related problems. Her research combines psychology, neuroscience, and epidemiology—and uses innovative methodology and technology—to better...

Staff Profile: A. Blythe Rose, MD, MPH

A. Blythe Rose, MD, MPH, received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and a Master of Public Health degree, with a concentration in international mental health and disaster relief, from the Boston University School of Public Health. She completed her residency at the Adult Psychiatry...

Staff Profile: Laura Payne, PhD

Laura Payne, PhD, is the director of the Clinical and Translational Pain Research Laboratory at McLean Hospital. Her research focuses on identifying neurobiological, behavioral, and psychological biomarkers related to pain, particularly menstrual pain in adolescents. Specifically, she is interested...

Staff Profile: Judith Halperin, PsyD

Judith Halperin, PsyD, moved to the Boston area for her post-doctoral fellowship at McLean in 1987 and has stayed on both as an attending psychologist and a staff psychologist in a variety of settings including the Adolescent Family Treatment Unit and the Appleton Outpatient Substance Abuse Clinic...

Staff Profile: Holly S. Peek, MD, MPH

Holly S. Peek, MD, MPH, received her medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine. She also received a dual Masters of Public Health degree at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, with a concentration in global community health and behavioral sciences. She...

Klarman Eating Disorders Center

Founded with the generous support of the Klarman Family Foundation, the Klarman Eating Disorders Center (KEDC) provides world-class treatment for young adults, including cisgender women, transgender women, and non-binary individuals, ages 18 to 28. Our residential and partial hospital program...

Women’s Mental Health Treatment

Research underscores that gender is an important factor in determining risk, occurrence, presentation, course, and treatment of mental illnesses. McLean is dedicated to promoting wellness for girls and women throughout the life span by considering the biological, sociocultural, and environmental...

Mental Health Treatment for Girls and Young Women

At McLean Hospital, we are committed to supporting young people and their families while they learn the skills they need to manage their mental health. From comprehensive treatment programs to robust support and education, we are here to help. Research underscores that gender is an important factor...

Women’s Mental Health: Projects and Collaborations

Members of McLean’s Division of Women’s Mental Health engages in share their expertise in psychiatry and women’s health to support the field. Through community collaborations, scholarly conferences, and more, the division aims to promote women’s mental health as a means to improving brain health for...